William scott morton



(No Model.)

W. S. MORTON. WALL DECORATING MATERIAL.

No. 407,604. Patented July 23, 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFICE.

IVILLIAM SCOTT MORTON, OF EDINBURGH, COUNTY OF MID-LOTI-IIAN,

' SCOTLAND.

WALL-DECORATING MATERIAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 407,604, dated July 23, 1889.

Application filed November 14, 1888. $erial No. 290,837. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that LWILLIAM SCOTT MORTON, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Edinburgh, county of Mid-Lothian, Scotland, have invented Improved IVall-Decoratin g Material, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the manufacture of a material for covering and decorating interior walls, ceilings, and other surfaces; and the object of my invention is to produce a decorative material which will be very light, and yet sufficiently strong, and which will resist the action of dampness or moisture and will not be liable to warp, and which furthermore is adapted to be made up in the form of panels ready for application to the ceilings and walls of rooms as a substitute forplaster.

One of the principal constituents of my improved decorative material is canvas or other similar fabric, which forms the surface layer, and is embossed, as hereinafter described, in such a way as to retain for artistic effect the texture of the fabric. On the back of the embossed canvas I apply a coating of a stiffening composition containing as one of its elements plaster or equivalent material, and then I apply to this a backing of paper, which is worked into the cavities of the embossed canvas. WVhen this is to be used in panel form, I combine with it a backing of two or more layers of wood with the grains running in different directions, which may also be combined with straw or wood-pulp lumber, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an enlarged sectional View of a portion of my improved decorative material without the wooden backing. Fig. 2 is a face view of the decorative material and illustrating a design effect produced thereby. Fig. 3 is a sectional View of my improved decorative material combined with the wooden backing for panelwork. Fig. 4 is a sectional view drawn to a much larger scale and showing the manner of securing the decorated panels in place for ceilings.

In carrying out my invention I take a sheet of canvas and soften it first by soaking it in boiling water, and I then steep it in hot size, and the softened and sized canvas is then applied to the molding surface containing the design m intaglio, and the can-vas is gradually and carefully worked into the cavities of the intaglio surface, care being taken not to tear, 5 5 pucker, or crease the canvas. When the canvas has been quite worked into the design or while this work is in progress, heat is applied to the mold to stiffen the canvas, and when the latter has become dry it is coated all over the back with the stiffening composition, which contains as one of its essential elements plaster-of-paris, whiting, or similar material.

In practice I prefer to use a composition of plaster-of-paris,Whiting, and paste. In highlyrelieved parts of the embossed canvas additional stiffness may be given thereto by introducing layers of paper or paper-pulp into I the deep cavities of the canvas. Over all there is then pasted a backing or coating of paper, which is also worked or beaten into the intaglio back of the canvas. This is done while the canvas is still hot, and preferably while it remains on the heated mold. When the whole has become thoroughly dry, it is re moved and is ready for use.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, A represents the canvas front, B the stiffening composition applied to the back of it, and D the paper backing worked into the cavities of the embossed canvas. From practical use I find that this combination of canvas front with paper backing and the intermediate stiffening composition gives a decorative material which is not liable to shrink, and I find that the plaster or whiting or equivalent material of the intermediate stiffening composition answers the purpose much better than glue or such substances, which have sometimes beenused in embossed Work.

The described decorative material lends itself readily to decoration in the form of panels, and in such case I prefer to unite with the embossed material described a backing. formed of two or more layers of wood, with the grains running in difierent directions, so as to counteract any tendency to warping. Sequoia wood is particularly applicable for this purpose, both for its non-shrinking and non-inflammable qualities. The embossed 10o canvas, with its paper lining and intermediate stiffening composition, maybe secured to this wooden backing E in any suitable way and by any suitable means, and the panels thus produced may be secured in place, asin decorating ceilings, by nails or screws f passing through the panels into the joists F, while strips of molding M, Fig. 4-, can be applied to conceal the joints and complete the decorative effect. Both the canvas surface and wood back could be coated with fire-resisting fluid or asbestus paint. Straw-board or wood-pulp lumber may also be combined with the layers of Wood for large panels by introducing a layer of such material between the two layers of wood.

I do not claim in this application the process of making the decorative material as before described, as that forms the subject of a separate application for a patent filed by me November 14, 1888, Serial N 290,836.

I claim as my invention- 1. The herein-described decorative material for walls, ceilings, and other surfaces, said material consisting of a face of embossed canvas, a backing of paper worked into the cavities of the embossed canvas, and an intermediate stiffening composition.

set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. I

WILLIAM SCOTT MORTON.

\Vitnesses:

EDITH J. GRISWOLD, S. O. CONNOR. 

